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S 977 IS

To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain time periods from fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada that exposed individuals who lived in the downwind affected area in the State of Montana.

May 9, 2005

Mr. BURNS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

To include claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain time periods from fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada that exposed individuals who lived in the downwind affected area in the State of Montana.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2005'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE; APOLOGY.

(a) Findings- Congress finds the following:

(1) Ninety-nine percent of the Iodine-131 (hereinafter referred to as `I-131') in the atmosphere of the United States came from 90 tests in Nevada, mainly in the years 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1957. I-131 is a leading cause of thyroid cancer in America. The United States national average dosage per person is 2 rads.

(2) Of the 25 counties with the heaviest average dose of I-131, which is between 9 and 16 rads, 15 counties (Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Powell, Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, Gallatin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Silver Bow, Chouteau and Deer Lodge) are in the State of Montana.

(3) The county with the highest per capita thyroid dose of I-131 in the country is Meagher county in Montana with 16 rads, which is 800 percent higher than the national average.

(4) Of the 56 counties in Montana, only Yellowstone County has an I-131 exposure level near the national average. None of the counties in Montana have an I-131 exposure level below the national average.

(5) As thyroid cancer takes 10 to 40 years to develop, radiation exposure in the late 1950s might not manifest in cancer until the late 1990s.

(6) While the national average for thyroid cancer has remained steady over the past 30 years, the rate of reported thyroid cancer in Montana has increased steadily. In 1980, Montana had a rate of thyroid cancer 6.2 times the national average. In 1990, that rate had increased to 10.8 times the national average and in 2000 the rate of reported thyroid cancer in Montana was 17.5 times the national average.

(7) When this data is age-adjusted, it is clear that the diagnosis rates for thyroid cancer in Montana have increased dramatically over the past decade, even relative to an increase in national rates. Between 1989 and 1993, the age-adjusted rate of thyroid cancer in Montana was 4.4 people per 10,000 persons, compared to the national average of 5.5 people per 10,000 persons. Between 1994-1998, that rate increased to 6.3 in Montana, but the national average only increased to 6.5. Between 1999 and 2003, that rate in Montana increased again to 10.0, surpassing the national average of 7.6.

(8) Between 1989 and 2003, the national age-adjusted rate of thyroid cancer diagnosis increased by 38 percent. During that same period of time, the rate in Montana increased 127 percent.

(9) These increases in the thyroid cancer rate correspond with the expected delay for the manifestation of thyroid cancer from exposure during the nuclear testing in the 1950s.

(10) The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note), enacted in 1990, establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund for claims for injuries and death due to exposure during certain time periods to radiation from: (1) nuclear testing in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona; or (2) uranium mining in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, or Utah.

(11) None of the 5 counties with the highest I-131 exposure, which are located in Montana and Idaho, are covered under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act . Only 3 of the 25 counties with the highest I-131 exposure are covered. No counties in Montana are currently covered by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. However, 3 counties in Nevada with dosage rates nearly equal to the national average are covered.

(12) The Board on Radiation Effects Research at the National Academy of Sciences has conducted studies on the effects of this radiation exposure in all 50 States and found that the calculated absorbed dose to the thyroid of a person born in 1948 who resided for the entire period evaluated in Montana is 250 milligrays, higher than any of the counties in Utah currently eligible for compensation.

(13) Fallout emitted during the Government's above-ground nuclear tests in Nevada exposed individuals who lived in the downwind affected area in Montana to radiation that is presumed to have generated an excess of cancers among these individuals.

(14) The United States should recognize and assume responsibility for the harm done to these individuals.

(15) The lives and health of innocent individuals who lived downwind from the Nevada tests, in the State of Montana, were involuntarily subjected to increased risk of injury and disease to serve the national security interests of the United States.

(b) Purpose- It is the purpose of this Act to establish a procedure to make partial restitution to individuals described in subsection (a) for the burdens they have borne for the Nation as a whole.

(c) Apology- Congress apologizes on behalf of the Nation to the individuals described in subsection (a) and their families for the hardships they have endured.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO RECA.

(a) Compensation in General- Section 4(b)(1) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking `and' at the end; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(D) in the State of Montana, the counties of Meagher, Broadwater, Beaverhead, Jefferson, Powell, Judith Basin, Madison, Fergus, Gallatin, Petroleum, Lewis and Clark, Blaine, Silver Bow, Chouteau, and Deer Lodge; and'.

(b) Additional Relief- Section 4 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(c) Additional Relief-

`(1) OTHER AREAS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- An individual who resided in a region of Montana not covered under subsection (b)(1)(D) during the time period described in subsection (a)(1)(A)(i) may apply for compensation under this Act.

`(B) PROCEDURE- The National Cancer Institute, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall evaluate whether an individual submitting an application under subparagraph (A) is eligible for compensation under this Act on a case-by-case basis.

`(2) OTHER EXPENSES- An individual who is eligible for compensation under subsection (b)(1)(D) or paragraph (1) shall also receive compensation from the Fund for the costs of screening, complications of screening, follow-up referrals, work-up diagnosis, and treatment related to the specific disease contracted by the individual.'.

(c) Authorization of Appropriations- Section 3(e) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(3) RECA AMENDMENTS OF 2005- There are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund $200,000,000 to carry out the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2005. Any amounts appropriated pursuant to this paragraph are authorized to remain available until expended. Of the funds appropriated to carry out the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2005, not less than 95 percent of the funds expended shall be distributed directly to victims of radiation exposure.'.

SEC. 4. EDUCATION PROGRAM.

The Health Resources and Services Administration shall conduct an enhanced program of education and communication about the health risks posed by radiation exposure from fallout from United States nuclear-weapons testing.

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